Chart holder



Nov. 26, 1957 L. D. STARKEY CHART HOLDER Filed Mavy '7, 1956 l IN VENTOR. Lorin D. Market? BY ATTORNEYS s 2,814,138 Ice Patented Nov. 26,1957

CHART HOLDER Lorin D. Starkey, Tallmadge, Chio Application March 7,1956, Serial No. 570,047 3 Claims. (Cl. 40-10) The invention relates toa holder for charts, drawings and the like, for displaying the same insubstantially vertical position, and more particularly to such a devicecomprising a substantially vertical board mounted upon a base or standand having novel clamping means at its upper end for clamping the upperedge portions of single sheets, or books of charts, drawings and thelike, suspended in vertical position upon said board.

It is an object of the invention to provide a chart holder in the formof a base or stand having an upright board of wood, Wallboard or thelike supported thereon, manually operable clamping means being locatedat the top of said board for clamping the upper edge portions of one ormore charts, drawings or other sheets of paper or the like, whereby saidsheets will be held suspended against the surface of said board fordemonstration or display purposes.

Another object is to provide such a device in which the charts, drawingsor other sheets are so mounted upon the board that they may be thrownover the top of the board, one at a time, so as to display each page ofa book or plurality of charts in succession.

A further object is to provide a chart holder of this character inlwhich a single sheet or a book or plurality of sheets may be clampedupon the board.

A still further object is to provide such a device in which means isprovided for clamping charts or the like on opposite sides of the board.

' It is another object of the' invention to provide a chart holder ofthe character referred to, in which the clamping means comprises amanually operable clamping rod, having a plurality of substantiallyV-shape bends therein, adapted to clamp charts, drawings or the likeagainst the surface of the board when the rod is axially rotated.

Another object is to provide such a chart holder, in which a clampholder is mounted at the top of the board and spaced from the surfacethereof, the clamping rod being rotatably mounted upon the inner side ofthe clamp holder, there being pockets in the inner side `of said clampholder' for receiving the V-shape bends of the rod when the same is inthe unoperated position.

The above objects together with others which will be apparent from thedrawing or following description, or which may be later referred to, maybe attained by conv structing the improved chart holder in the mannerillustrated in the drawing and'hereinafter described in detail.V

In general terms, the invention may be described as comprising a base:or stand with spaced uprights attached thereto, a panel or board ofwood, wallboard or the like of less thickness than said uprights, beingmounted between the uprights in substantially vertical position andVextending from the upper ends of the uprights to a point spaced from thelowerends thereof.

A top support member, `of the same width as the uprights, is attached tothe top of the panel or board, and the clamp holders are attached attheir upper edges to opposite edges of the top support member7 andopposite ends of the clamp holders overlap the uprights and are attachedthereto. The clamp holders are thus spaced from opposite sides of theupper end portion of the panel or board, providing pockets to receivethe upper end portions of charts, drawings or other sheets to bedisplayed.

A clamping rod is rotatably mounted upon the inner side of each clampholder, and has spaced V-shape bends formed therein, recesses beingformed in the inner surface of each clamp holder for receiving theseV-shape bends when the clamping rod is in the unoperated or neutralposition. An angular handle portion is formed upon one end of eachclamping rod for manually rotating the same, and a keeper may be locatedupon the adjacent upright for limiting the movement thereof.

In order to mount charts or the like for display upon the chart holder,the upper edges of the charts or other sheets to be displayed areinserted into either of the pockets formed between the clamp holders andthe upper portion of the board. The handle of the corresponding clampingrod is then pulled downward, rotating the clamping rod and bringing theV-shape bends thereon into clamping engagement with the upper portionsof the charts, tightly clamping them against the board.

Having thus brieiiy described the invention and the manner of using thesame, reference is now made to the accompanying drawing, forming parthereof, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which:

p Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a chart holder con` structed inaccordance with the invention, showing a plurality of charts or the likemounted for display on one side thereof;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary end elevation of one end of the upperportion of the chart holder;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged,` fragmentary transverse vertical sectional viewof the upper portion of the chart holder, showing the clamping means;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section, on a smaller scale, taken on the line 44, Fig. 3; and,

Fig. 5 is a detached perspective view of one of the clamp holders,showing the clamping rod mounted thereon.

The improved chart holder to which the invention pertains is especiallyadapted for use in schools for displaying educational charts, drawingsand the like such' as are used for illustrating the subjects of lecturesand the like, although it will be obvious that the invention is adaptedfor use in holding various other kinds of drawings, maps, charts and thelike.

Referring now more particularly to the embodiment of the inventionillustrated in the drawing, the chart holder includes a base comprisingthe spaced foot members 10, connected in spaced relation by a brace rod11,

and adapted to be placed upon a tloor or other horizontall and extendsfrom the upper ends thereof to a pointV spaced from the base.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the side edges of the panel or board 14 maybe mounted in the vertical -`central` grooves 15 in the uprights 12,`and the upper edge of said panel may be mounted in horizontal centralgroove 16 in the top support member 13. Glue or other adhefA sive may beused for securing the edges of the panel i these grooves.

A lower support member 17 is connected at opposite ends to the uprights12, and provided in its upper surface with a groove 1S in which thelower edge of the panel or board 14 is mounted. Side and end members 19l and 2t! respectively may be provided around the lower support 17 toinish or trim the same and provide troughs 21 on opposite sides, at thebottom of the panel, for

i retaining pencils, crayons, pointers or the like for use inconnection` with the charts, drawings or the like supported for display.

A clamp support 22 is attached at its upper edge to each side of the topsupport 13, the ends of said clamp supports overlapping the uprights 12and being connected thereto. As best shown in Fig, 3, these clampsupports depend some distance below the top support 13, forming pockets23, on opposite sides of the upper end portion of the panel or board 14,to receive the upper end portions of charts or the like, as indicated at24.

Near the lower edge of each clamp support 22, a clamping rod 25 isjournalled upon the inner face of the clamp support. Each clamping rodis preferably located in a longitudinal groove 26, in the inner face ofthe clamp support, and journalled therein as by staples 27 or the like.

Substantially V-shape bends 28 are formed at intervals throughout thelength of each clamping rod, and recesses 29 are formed in the innerside of each clamp support 22 for receiving said Vshape bends when theclamping rod is in the neutral or unoperated position, as shown in Fig.5.

For the purpose of operating the clamping rods 25, the protruding end ofeach rod is bent angularly, forming an operating handle 30. A keeper 31,for each handle 3G, is attached to the outer side of each upright 12 forlimiting movement of the adjacent handle 30 in opposite directions.

In the operation of the device, the upper end portions of charts 24, orthe like, are inserted into the pocket 23 between the upper portion ofthe panel or board 14 and the clamp support 22, and the handle 30 ispulled downward to the position shown in Figs. l and 2, rotating theclamping rod to swing the V-shape bends 28 thereon inward and downwardto the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, clamping the upper end portionsof the charts 24 against the panel or board 14.

The charts 24 will thus be held suspended against the panel or board 14,as shown in Fig. l, displaying the charts for demonstration in classwork in schools, or for lectures or the like. Where a plurality ofcharts are clamped upon one side of the panel or board, as shown in Fig.l, each of the charts may be successively thrown over the top of theboard to display the next chart therebeneath. until each chart in thebook has been displayed.

It will be evident that a downward pull upon the charts will only tendto swing the V-shape bends 28 of the clamping rod downward and inwardinto tighter clamping engagement with the upper end portions of thecharts, holding them firmly against the panel or board.

When it is not desired to mount charts or the like on the device, thepanel or board 14 may serve as a bulletin board, as notices, cards orthe like may be attached to the surface of the board as by thumb tacksor other suitable means.

From the above it will be obvious that a simple, inexpensive andetlicient device is provided for holding charts, drawings and the likeso that they may be displayed for use in schools, lectures and forsimilar purposes. The charts or other papers maybe easily and quicklymounted for display or removed from the holder, and they are not damagedor defaced by the clamping means.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because suchwords are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to bebroadly construed;

2,814,138 Y g f Moreover, the embodiments of the improved constructionillustrated and described herein are by way of example, and the scope ofthe present invention is not limited to the exact details ofconstruction.

Having now described the invention or discovery, the construction, theoperation, and use of preferred embodi ments thereof, and theadvantageous new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and usefulconstructions, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious tothose skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A chart holder including` an upright panel, a top support member ofgreaterrwidth than the thickness of the panel, said top support memberbeing attached to the upper edge of the panel, a clamp support attachedat its upper edge to the outer edge of the top support member and spacedoutwardly from a surface of the panel defining a pocket therebetween toreceive the upper end portion of a chart and the like, and a clampingrod rotatably mounted upon the inner surface of the clamp supportV-shape bends upon said clamping rod for engagement with the upper endportion of the chart for clamping it against the panel, there beingrecesses in the inner surface of said clamp support for receiving saidV-shape bends when the clamping rod is in neutral position.

2. A chart holder comprising a base, a spaced pair of uprights mountedon the base, a panel of less thickness than the width of the uprights,said panel being attached at opposite edges to the uprights andextending to the upper ends of the uprights, a top support member ofsubstantially the same width as the uprights and connected to the upperends of the uprights and the panel, clamp supports connected at theirupper edges to opposite edges of the top support and at their ends tothe uprights whereby the clamp supports are spaced outwardly fromopposite sides of the panel defining pockets therebetween to receive theupper end portions of charts and the like, a clamping rod rotatablymounted upon the inner surface of each clamp support, V-shape bends uponsaid clamping rods for engagement with the upper end portions of thecharts for clamping them against the panel, an angular handle upon oneend of each clamping rod for manually rotating the clamping rods, andkeepers upon the outer sides of the uprights for limiting the movementof said handles.

3. A chart holder comprising a base, a spaced pair of uprights mountedon the base, a panel of less thickness than the width of the uprights,said panel being attached at opposite edges to the uprights andextending to the upper ends of the uprights, a top support member ofsubstantially the same width as the uprights and connected to the upperends of the uprights and the panel, clamp supports connected at theirupper edges to opposite edges of the top support and at their ends tothe uprights whereby the clamp supports are spaced outwardly fromopposite sides of the panel defining pockets therebetween to receive theupper end portions of charts and the like, a clamping rod rotatablymounted upon the inner surface of each clamp support, V-shape bends uponsaid clamping rods for engagement with the upper end portions of thecharts for clamping them against the panel, an angular handle upon oneend of each clamping rod for manually rotating the clamping rods, andkeepers upon the outer sides of the uprights for limiting the movementof said handles, there being recesses in the inner surfaces of saidclamp supports for receiving said V-shape bends when the clamping rodsare in neutral position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

